What you should know about chemotherapy drugs

Women with recurrent ovarian cancer have many important treatment-related questions to consider. You may wonder when your treatment should begin, what medications you should take, and how these drugs will affect your quality of life. Or, if you have already received treatment and your cancer has returned, you may wonder how your treatment options have changed.

One of the most important factors is whether your cancer is platinum- sensitive or platinum-resistant. Platinum-sensitive cancers recur after 6 months or more of remission, are responsive to platinum-based therapy, and are often treated using more than one agent. Patients with platinum-sensitive cancers have the most treatment options available to them. Platinum-resistant cancers recur less than 6 months after initial treatment, are not responsive to platinum-based therapy, and are usually treated with a nonplatinum single agent. Women with platinum-resistant cancer are unlikely to benefit from retreatment with the same chemo- therapy drugs, so these patients must be treated with another type of chemotherapy.1

Once your doctor determines which type of recurrent ovarian cancer you have, you can work together to choose the most effective treatment. You can empower yourself by learning more about commonly-used chemotherapy and hormonal drugs. The following list of common drugs used to treat recurrent ovarian cancer details how they are administered and what side effects they may cause.